The following time, Wushuang was like a thief, sneakily observing her colleagues.
With great difficulty, she managed to wait until work ended and everyone had left. She looked towards the director's office; he was still engrossed in his work.
After waiting for a few minutes, she messaged Tiantian.
"I'm going in. How should I say it?"
"Just say what you need to say. Tell the truth."
"Okay, when I return victorious, I'll bring you delicious food."
"Pizza, thank you. And a cup of milk tea. I haven't eaten anything that greasy in a long time, so today, let me indulge."
Wushuang was excited. "Me too, me too! Tonight is our sister night! Wait for me!"
Wushuang, holding the box, knocked on the director's office door. The director looked up. "Come in."
Seeing it was her, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Still working? Is there something you need?"
Wushuang also smiled at him.
"Nothing much, Director, it's just..."
She took out the box and placed it on his desk.
"You seem to have misunderstood."
"Oh, I misunderstood?"
The director raised an eyebrow and leisurely turned his chair halfway.
"What did I misunderstand?"
"You misunderstood that my phone was broken. It isn't, the screen is just a little cracked. A tempered glass protector will fix it."
As if fearing he wouldn't believe her, Wushuang took out her phone to show him.
"You don't need to give me a new phone. See? It's fine."
The director looked at her hand, then at her face, and then at the box in front of him. After a few seconds, he couldn't help but cover his mouth and chuckle softly.
"Wushuang. You are truly adorable."
Wushuang's face blushed and her heart pounded at his words. She didn't know how to respond.
Seeing her shy demeanor, the director found it even more amusing. He stood up, walked to the door, locked the office, pulled down the blinds, returned to her side, and looked down at her.
"I know your phone isn't broken. This is a gift from me to you. Can't I?"
Wushuang was even more at a loss for words, staring at him with wide eyes.
The director reached out and enclosed her small hand in his palm.
"Actually, I noticed you from the moment you joined the company. Beautiful, gentle, capable, and sensible. I've been smitten with you for a long time."
"Of course, it's not that you have to do anything with me if you accept my gift. I just thought this color suited you very well. Seeing it, I couldn't help but think of you and wanted you to have it."
Wushuang's hands and face were trembling. It was the first time in her life she had been confessed to so intimately by a man, and it was by her director, who always seemed so high and mighty.
Her head was spinning.
The director continued, "I want to pursue you. Can you give me a chance? Don't answer right away. Think about it."
Wushuang didn't know how she left his office. When she came to her senses, her car was already parked outside Tiantian's apartment complex.
The director reached out and gently touched the back of her head, saying with a doting expression.
"We're here. You can go down now. Be careful. Can you give me your answer tomorrow morning? I hope to sleep well tonight."
Did he mean he would be unable to sleep if he didn't get her answer?
Wushuang, in a daze, felt as though she were floating on clouds on her way to Tiantian's place.
When did she become so important in the director's eyes?
Tiantian opened the door when she heard the knock.
Seeing Wushuang standing blankly at the door, empty-handed, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"Why are you here so soon? Where's the pizza? The milk tea? What's with that expression? Did you see a ghost?"
Wushuang didn't enter. She squatted in front of Tiantian, cupping her face with her hands.
"I'm ruined, Tiantian. I think I've fallen."
"What do you mean?"
Wushuang recounted the entire story of the director giving her the phone and driving her back to Tiantian.
Tiantian, forgetting about eating, was all ears, her eyes sparkling with gossip.
"Quick, quick. Do you have his WeChat? Are there any photos in his Moments? Send them to me! I'm dying of curiosity to see what kind of man could have charmed you like this!"
Wushuang quickly found his WeChat and clicked into his Moments.
Scrolling from the beginning to the end, there were no selfies, only advertisements for company promotions.
Men of their age, with so many clients on WeChat, would hardly post selfies.
Tiantian had another thought. "There should be a photo on your company's official website. Let me see."
The two of them logged onto their company's official website and indeed found a photo.
Good heavens, although it was a serious ID photo of him in a suit and tie, his features weren't exceptionally striking, but one could tell he was a mature and intelligent man.
Tiantian approved. "Not bad. He's pretty much what I imagined. Since he looks good, has a good demeanor, is interested in you, and you know him, why not give it a try?"
Wushuang bashfully covered her eyes and flopped onto the sofa.
"Oh my god. I never thought I'd develop an office romance one day, and with the director at that. Ah, it's so surreal!"
"Just thinking about everyone's surprised faces when they find out makes my heart race. I'm both excited and scared, Tiantian, can you understand me?"
She understood.
Although her relationship with Chen Dongyang was different from Wushuang's situation, when a woman starts to have feelings for a man, the emotions are often quite similar.
"Alright, stop showing off. I know you're about to have a romance. Take care of this single dog, and a sick single dog at that. Go get me something to eat."
Wushuang finally remembered she was hungry and pushed the wheelchair to take Tiantian out.
"Let's go out to eat. You've been cooped up at home all day, why don't we go out and get some fresh air? We're not in a hurry, let's take a stroll."
With Wushuang's company, Tiantian's chaotic thoughts were dispersed, and she felt much better.
However, Chen Dongyang's situation was not as pleasant.
At noon, he went to fix Huihui's electric scooter. He removed the entire casing to inspect it and found that the battery welds were all secure, with no looseness.
By the time he reassembled everything, it was already time to go to work.
Huihui packed him a lunchbox to take, but his heart was heavy, and he had no appetite. He left without looking back.
Everything he saw in the afternoon displeased him, and he was very irritable. He even scolded Douya.
After finally enduring until the end of the workday, Huihui called again, saying that Doubao had a fever.
Distressed and agitated, he took them to the hospital. Huihui was holding the child as they received an IV drip, while he stood in the hallway, staring blankly out the window.
The feeling of frustration lingered. His attempt to quit smoking had failed, and he went outside the hospital to buy a pack of cigarettes.
It had been a long, long time since he felt this way.
He had thought his heart had died, that he had accepted his fate and was content with his current life.
But after knowing her for only two months, he had become like this again.
He detested himself and his life, believing he was unworthy of love.
Yet, he lived each day like a walking corpse, mechanically paying off his debts.
How much longer could he endure this kind of life?